House of Dragons (House of Dragons, #1)

by Jessica Cluess

“Once you have knelt before me and apologized, you will walk bloody-footed and naked into the Ardennes region, where I will line up every single woman and girl, from courtier to peasant. I’ll have them walk through mud and rain and pig shit, so that all of the hems of their garments are sodden with filth, all so that you can get onto your worthless knees and kiss the hem of every. Single. One.” She brought her nose to Tiber’s; in his eyes, she saw the panic of a sow at slaughter. “And with every kiss, you will beg their forgiveness for entertaining the thought that a disease such as yourself could be worthy of touching them upon the shoulder, let alone…” She did not voice the unsavory thought. Sneering, she shoved Tiber backward. His chair nearly tipped over, and his sons scrambled to right him. Her father was on his feet now, but she paid him no mind. “So take that filthy slug between your legs and your ill-gotten spawn, and if you approach me again, by the blue above I will gut you.” Her fists tightened by her side. “Do you understand, my lord?”

THE POWER OF THIS MOMENT!